Honey, I Shrunk the Avengers
by Devil Woman
Summary: While gearing up for a camping trip, four of Earth's Mightiest are accidentally shrunk by a shrink ray in the tower that Tony had recently acquired. Now it's up to Bruce and Pepper to locate their missing friends and get them back to normal.
1. Chapter 1

Honey, I Shrunk the Avengers

By Devil Woman

DISCLAIMER: All characters are copyrighted by Disney/Marvel. I own nothing.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Since the last story I wrote was on the heavy side, I wanted to write something light-hearted and fun, hence using one of my favorite childhood movies from the 80s as a source of inspiration. Read and Review!

* * *

It was a beautiful Saturday morning at the Avengers tower. After working non-stop for what seemed like months, the team of superheroes where finally getting a well-deserved break. With the upcoming two weeks off, each member of the team began to make plans. Clint was gearing up to go on a camping trip with Tony in tow. They encouraged Steve to come along, to which the soldier finally complied after Clint keep pestering him about it.

"This is gonna rock! I can't wait to catch some fish, relax and let's not forget the most important element." Clint held up a case of beer from the package store.

"Really now? You plan on being wasted for the entire trip?"

"Not all the time. Better get packing Steve; we leave in a few hours!" Clint reminded him as he skipped away happily with the beer in hand.

While Steve headed back toward his room; the sound of music caught his ear. Following the music, Steve saw the door to the training room was open. Upon peering inside, he saw that Natasha was in the middle of dancing. But it wasn't her normal choreographed routine. It was…different to say the least. While Steve was still unfamiliar with most music post-1940s, he was aware what decade the music coming from the stereo was (the 1980s). The song "Shake Your Love" by Debbie Gibson played on as Natasha was clearly engrossed with the beat. The dance she was performing was comprised of twists and tight, jerky moves. Steve had seen similar dance moves from a video Tony had showed him one day on the computer.

"The 1980s had some of the worst music in existence!" the billionaire commented as the video played.

While Steve couldn't agree with Tony (he actually didn't mind the song), the dancing the performers did in the video was terrible. Now that he was watching Natasha perform similar moves, Steve didn't mind. He stood quietly, watching the Russian dance. The fact that she was an accomplished dancer only made Steve become more drawn to her performance. She had a big smile on her face as she dipped and twirled, clearly enjoying her on-the-fly routine. Suddenly, Natasha looked up and saw that Steve was watching her. She nearly lost her footing due to being caught off-guard, but gracefully caught herself.

"Steve! I-I didn't notice you there in the doorway." She stammered and quickly turned down the volume on the stereo. Her cheeks where starting to blush from embarrassment, as were Steve's.

"Uh, sorry…I didn't mean to bother you."

"No, it's OK…just blowing off some steam; Clint was irritating me." Natasha stood awkwardly, still discomfited.

"I never figured you, of all people, would like music like that. Let alone be able to dance like that as well."

"It's a guilty pleasure of mine." she told Steve.

Steve tried to think of something to say, but nothing was coming out. He thought about telling Natasha that she was cute bopping along to the 1980s pop song, but he figured that she'd punch him for even having the guts to say that to her.

"Anyway, so I heard Clint is dragging you on his camping trip. You excited?" Natasha said; glad to have changed the subject.

"Yeah! I haven't been camping in years! Uh, no pun intended, of course."

She gave Steve a smile. "I'm glad he invited you Steve. You could use a little guy bonding time with Clint and Tony."

"True, but I found it surprising that Clint didn't invite you. After all, the two of you are like peanut butter and jelly: always together."

While the analogy was childish, it was true about Natasha and Clint. The spy and the archer where always teamed up for missions and now even being on a team, they never left one another's side.

"Just because Clint and I always work together doesn't mean we do everything together. We do enjoy our solitude from time to time."

"So, what are your plans now that most of us are going away?"

"Nothing really. I'm just going to relax and hang around the tower, I suppose." Natasha replied. Secretly, she was hoping that Steve had rejected Clint and Tony's invite. She wanted him to stay behind so that the two of them could spend their vacation together. In the other times she was with Steve, Natasha found him to be charming (and frustrating) watching the WWII hero come to grips with technology and other modern items. Other than that, the Russian always enjoyed the soldier's company.

The two stared at each other, trying to think of what to say next when Tony burst into the scene.

"So Cap's gonna go camping with me and bird boy, huh?" he said, playfully slapping Steve's back. The sudden blow nearly caused Steve to trip, but he caught himself before falling face first on the floor.

"Am I in over my head?" he asked Tony. "Perhaps, but I can guarantee that it'll be a camping trip unlike any you've ever experienced!"

Natasha crossed her arms over her chest and eyed Tony. "Sounds like a warning to me."

"Aw, don't act like that Nat. We promise to take care of little Stevie here well." Tony said in a motherly voice. He then pinched Steve's cheek as an over affectionate aunt would.

Steve slapped Tony's hand away as he rubbed the pain away. "I wish you didn't do that." He muttered.

"Loosen up, will ya? We are officially on vaca! No work, no girlfriends, no anything!" Tony exclaimed in happiness. "Now, if you excuse me, I need to finish packing. See you in a bit." He said as he left the room.

Steve gave Natasha an exasperated look.

"Maybe this camping trip isn't such a good idea, especially if Tony's involved."

"Go, you'll have fun." Natasha encouraged him. Steve smiled back at her. Maybe she was right, the trip did sound promising.

* * *

Bruce was held up in the lab as usually. Like Natasha, he planned on spending his time off at the tower. With Tony, Clint and Steve going camping, Bruce would finally have some peace and quiet. While he did enjoy the comradey of his team mates, Bruce was a loner by default. And with the other men away, Bruce could finally analyze that shrink ray Tony had been working on. The shrink ray had come into SHIELD's possession after they did a search of your typical villain-of-the-week's lair the Avengers recently defeated.

Tony, the ever engineering student that he was, had claimed the machine as his new project. "But you have several others that you've started on!" Bruce told him the day he saw Tony drag that machine into the lab.

"I get bored easily. Plus, it's a shrink ray, DUH! It's like something out of one of those old sci-fi B-movies."

Bruce had a soft spot for those kitschy films as much as Tony did, so the scientist didn't mind having the shrink ray in the lab. Tony had recently made some adjustments and repairs before the team's vacation. Bruce was instructed by Tony himself to run a few tests and jot down the results while he was away. He also gave Bruce permission to make any additional changes as he saw fit. But Bruce declined, as he wasn't as crafty as his friend.

"Alright then, but if anything happens, just enter that auto shut down code we came up with. I really don't want to come back and find the tower a pile of rubble." Tony told him as he was busy packing. Bruce nodded in response.

In the lab, Bruce was busy preparing to start the tests when his stomach growled in hunger. He headed to the kitchen to make something to eat when he saw the large case of beer near the counter.

"Gee, I wonder who's idea it was to buy this much beer." Bruce said with sarcasm as he started to make a sandwich.

Meanwhile, back in the lab, Tony was making sure Bruce had everything he might need for the shrink ray tests when Clint appeared. He was holding a football and showed it to Tony.

"Ready to toss the ol' pigskin when we get to the camp ground?"

"You bet! Think you've got a better throwing arm than me, Legolas?"

"Oooh, them's fightin' words." Clint said to Tony. "Wanna put your money where your mouth is?" He held the ball back, ready to throw.

"You better not throw that thing in here. If it breaks anything, it's coming out of your paycheck." Tony threatened.

"You think I'm that stupid? But then again, this is a pretty big space. We can always go to the lower floor and toss the ball without hitting anything…" Clint egged on.

Clint did have a point. The lower floor was mostly for storage and everything was already packed up tightly in boxes and crates. Plus Tony wasn't going let some young punk like Clint tease him about his supposed lack of sportsmanship.

"You're on!" Tony said and the two took the stairs to the lower level of the lab. After tossing the football back and forth for a bit, Clint backed up a few spaces.

"Go long, Tin Man!" he called and threw the football to Tony.

But Clint's aim was too high and he sent the ball flying over Tony's head. A crash was heard and the sound of something booting up.

"Shit!" Tony cursed and jetting up the stairs to the first floor.

"Oh man, I'm so sorry!" Cling apologized as he followed Tony.

The two saw where the football had landed: right on the shrink ray! The machine was powering up and was on a countdown to let the user know when it would go off. Tony sprinted to the shrink ray but it was too late. The shrink ray's barrel fired a beam toward the two men. Tony and Clint couldn't dodge it in time and let out shocked yelps as the beam hit them.

* * *

It was quiet…too quiet. Natasha knew that Clint had been in a boisterous mood the entire morning about the camping trip. She was starting to get annoyed with the archer after hearing him quip about how much beer he had bought for the trip.

"Even the fish are going to get drunk!" he told her.

"Says the lightweight who get plastered after having one pint of Guinness." Natasha retorted.

While Clint was trying to come up with a witty rebuttal, Natasha had sought solace in the training room. But that was well over an hour ago. She knew that the men would be leaving shortly, but it was odd that Clint didn't come to say good-bye to her. Natasha went to Clint's room and found him not there, as his duffle bag and camping supplies were still on the bed. In her pursuit of locating Clint, Natasha had run into Steve who was also looking for the agent. Steve wanted to ask Clint if they had any extra sleeping bags (Steve's sleeping bag was ripped and needed to be replaced).

"You're looking for Clint too? Just where has that dummy gone off to." Natasha said.

"Maybe Tony knows where he might be. Let's go check the lab." Steve suggested.

"Good idea. Tony's mostly likely down there anyway. Even before going on a trip, that guy's always tinkering away at something."

But when they arrived at the lab, Steve and Natasha found no one.

"Tony, you in here?" Steve called out. No response.

"Now this is odd." Natasha noticed the shrink ray was on. Right next to it was a football. "Those idiots." She muttered picking it up and showing the ball to Steve.

"Clint was here without a doubt. But where's he hiding?"

The shrink ray booted up once more and the countdown began. Steve panicked, wondering which button to push to stop the machine. Natasha hesitated as well. "Where's Bruce when you need him!" she said in frustration as she quickly glanced over her options.

The countdown ended and the shrink ray released a beam at Natasha, who was in the machine's firing range. Steve tried to pull her out of the way, but the beam hit the both of them.

Now sitting on the floor, Steve and Natasha where still. They felt fine, but where weary of their new surroundings. They got up and brushed off the electrical discharge from their clothes and bodies.

"Steve. Are we still in the lab?" Natasha asked as she was taking in the scene before them.

"I think so, but everything seems to be larger than before."

He was right. Natasha looked up and saw that the shrink ray was now the size of a skyscraper.

"Are we—"she started to say, but saw two figures running toward her and Steve. At first their cries where muffled, but once the figures came into view, Natasha and Steve immediately recognized them.

"Clint?!" "Tony?!"

Once all four of them met up, questions and answers started to fly out of their mouths.

"What the hell happened to us?" Natasha demanded Tony.

"Well, you can thank Joe Namath here." Tony thumbed over to Clint. "His throwing arm activated the shrink ray and now the four of us are the size of Micro Machines."

"Hey! I said I was sorry!" Clint spat.

"You two can duke it out later. For now, let's see if we can fix this. Tony, is there any way you can activate that machine from our current height?" Steve asked.

"Nope. And I have some bad news. I put an auto shut down on the shrink ray. Only Bruce and I know the code to over-ride it."

"Crap." Both Natasha and Clint grumbled.

"Well, we can't just be sitting ducks. We've got to try and get ahold of Bruce somehow."

"Cap. If any of us had our cellphones on us, it wouldn't do us any good. The signal would be too weak. I also can't do any voice commands for JARVIS to register, given our current size."

"Let's just hope Bruce picks up on why he's all by himself." Clint hoped. He huffed in frustration. "So much for our camping trip."

"Hey, let's not give up too soon. Bruce should be coming back to the lab at any moment." Steve said, trying to ease a worried Clint.


	2. Chapter 2

Bruce had finished lunch and was cleaning up when he noticed how eerily silent it was. Maybe his team mates already left. But if they did, then why were Tony's bags still by the door? And if Natasha and Steve had left the tower, why where their keys still on the hook near the exit? Bruce returned to the lab and saw that the shrink ray had been activated. It appeared to have been fired twice and was in standby mode. A football was in close proximity of the machine.

"What the-? Really now." He said as Bruce placed the ball on the table. He was about to shut down the machine when he noticed several tiny figures on the floor.

Bruce removed his glasses and eyed them quizzically. They appeared to be waving frantically and where making some sort of shrill noises. Bruce squinted, trying to figure out what the objects where. He gave up and went over to the supply closet. "Stupid bugs." He said as he grabbed the broom and dustpan.

"Did he see us?" Steve wondered. Tony saw Bruce grab the broom and dustpan.

"I told him to get Lasik surgery for his farsightedness." He quipped, looking nervous. Steve was about to ask Tony what he meant when Natasha stopped him.

"Guys, may I make a suggestion: RUN!"

The broom was coming toward the four of them and the heroes sprinted away from it as fast as they could. The bristles where coming dangerously close; they were too wide to be dodged. So the group began to run in the opposite direction, only to have the dustpan coming straight toward them. With no other possible means of escape, they were ultimately crushed by the broom bristles and pressed against the dustpan tightly. Bruce carefully brought the dustpan to the garbage can and tilted it over the opening. The miniature heroes slide down toward the garbage can and landed on top of the mess inside.

Bruce then tied up the bag and carried it out of the lab. The tower had a garbage chute that lead to the industrial bin located underneath in the garage. When Bruce arrived at the chute, he muttered at the site. The chute was over flowing and people had started to pile bags around it. Bruce just tossed the bag in front of the chute and took his leave, all without noticing that his now diminutive team mates were trapped inside.

"Is everyone OK?" Steve asked his comrades.

"I'm OK." Clint replied. "Same here." Natasha said.

"Still in one piece." Tony added.

"Good. Let's try and get out of here." Steve said. It was pitch black inside the garbage bag and he was trying to feel his way around.

"Hey watch it!" Tony told Steve.

"Ouch!" Clint yelped. "You stepped on my hand!"

"If you guys try anything funny…" Natasha warned.

"Try and find something to cut the side of the bag." Steve patted down near his feet, feeling for anything sharp that could help him out.

Clint managed to find a broken paperclip and together with Tony, they jabbed the plastic wall and cut downward. When they felt it was a large enough rip, the four widened the slit. Light poured from the opening and the group was able to see where they were. Located just outside of their living quarters, the heroes knew they were at the garbage chute. A flight of stairs leading to the main area of the tower was in sight.

"Well, at least where still in the building. I can only imagine what it'll be like if we were outside." Tony said as he exited their prison.

"I'd rather not think about that." Clint said as he and Natasha climbed out as well, followed by Steve.

"Let's head to the stairs and see if we can climb them."

"Or, we could get a lift, Steve." Tony pointed to a gigantic figure coming toward them.

Pepper was coming down the hall with a shopping tote and her purse. She seemed frazzled as she was trying to dig something out of her purse. Tony knew that she had a bad habit of not pulling out her ID card to unlock the door to go upstairs, especially since that door had been recently replaced with a new lock. Pepper stopped at the door, still fishing through her purse. The shopping bag was set on the ground next to her.

The heroes saw their chance and ran toward the shopping tote. While the walls where too high for them to climb, Pepper had accidently knocked over the bag when she had knelt down to get a better view of the inside of her purse. The group scurried into the bag just in time as Pepper picked up the tote and brought it upright. As the bag was being repositioned, the heroes where tousled a bit, but otherwise secure.

"Talk about luck being on your side." Natasha said as she heard Pepper let out a "YES!" when she found her ID badge.

With a swipe of the badge, the door unlocked and Pepper made her way upstairs with her items in tow. As Pepper climbed the stairs, the group was trying to figure out how to get not only Bruce's attention, but let Pepper know as well.

"We can rule out shouting since our voices are too high-pitched for anyone to hear." Tony said.

"What about rustling the bag?"

"And risk being crushed again Steve? I'll pass." Clint did make a point. If Bruce thought his team mates where now insects given their current size, Pepper would surely think so as well.

"It seems the best option is to wait until Pepper opens the bag. She will see us and we can get back to our normal size." Natasha concluded.

"Let's just hope she doesn't freak out upon seeing us. I really don't want her to faint at the sight of her boyfriend being the Incredible Shrinking Man." Tony said. Despite she was one tough cookie; Tony was still concerned on how much weird stuff Pepper could handle in one sitting. Then again, Pepper was used to seeing all sorts of oddities by now, but even the most seasoned person could still be taken back every now and then.

Pepper entered the living quarters and placed the shopping tote on an empty chair. Bruce entered the room and greeted her as she was making sure to put her ID card in a more easily reachable place in her purse.

"Hi Pepper. Still having trouble remembering your ID card?"

"Hey Bruce. I keep forgetting Tony had that security door's lock replaced. I really wish he went with the keypad instead of the swipe kind; it was so much easier."

"So what brings you here?"

"Tony wanted me to pick up some stuff for his camping trip this weekend with Clint and Steve. Is he in the lab, like I need to ask." Pepper knew better, but just like with the ID badge, it was a bad habit she couldn't break.

"Here's the funny thing: Tony's nowhere to be found."

"Really? Hmmm…that's not like him to just disappear without letting someone know where he was going." Pepper said to Bruce.

"The last time I spoke with him was earlier in the lab. Aside from Tony not being here, Clint, Natasha and Steve have also vanished."

Bruce explained that all of their keys and luggage where still in their proper place. Pepper knew something was up.

"Let's go check the security tapes. I know the code to access them; they may give us some clues as to what happened." She told the scientist.

As Bruce followed Pepper, he accidently bumped into the chair with the shopping bag in the seat. Ignoring it, both Bruce and Pepper failed to see the bag tip over, spilling its contents on the floor, including the tiny Avengers. After they gathered their bearings, the group needed to think of a new plan.

"Can we please come up with a plan in which doesn't involve us being tossed around like toys?" said Clint as the group was trying to come up with solutions to their problem.

"Aw, whatsamatter? You don't have your Barbie RC car to putz around in?' Tony asked Clint. Clint shot a dirty look at Tony, who snickered back at him.

"Enough comments from the peanut gallery." Steve reminded his team mates once more. He eyed the items that had been in the bag with them. Seeing some fishing hooks and line, Steve got an idea.

"Everyone, grab a fishhook and some line. I have a plan."

Using a fishhook and some of the fishing line attached to it, the heroes had fashioned a makeshift grapping hook.

"Try and see if you can hook it on the back of the couch, Natasha. If all goes according to plan, we can climb up onto the couch and be up high enough for Bruce and Pepper to see us." Steve explained to her.

Natasha nodded and prepared to cast the hook. "Stand back." She commanded the men as she began to spin the hook.

With a quick, hard throw, Natasha launched the fishhook into the air. It sailed across the open space and landed atop the back cushion. She tugged the line to make sure it was secure.

"It's in pretty deep. I think we're good to go." Natasha said with confidence.

"You're up, Engie." Clint addressed Tony and bowed slightly with a smarmy grin on his face.

Tony snorted in annoyance over Clint's attitude toward him as he grabbed the line. He gave it a quick tug. He sighed and started the climb. "I always hated this in gym class." He mumbled.

Steve was next, then Natasha and Clint. As the group made progress climbing to the top, Tony couldn't help but start singing the 1960s Batman TV theme, much to the chagrin of his friends.

"Shut up Tony." Natasha told him off.

"It's not that funny." Clint said. "Says the Bird Wonder." Tony called back to Clint.

"Oh, ha-HA! Very funny." Clint sarcastically groused at the comparison Tony was referring to.

* * *

Meanwhile in the other room, Pepper and Bruce where accessing the security camera's back logs. With a few clacks of the keyboard, Pepper managed to pull up the recordings from the lab. From what they could gather, Tony was in the lab with Clint. A football crashed into the shrink ray and just as Tony was about to shut it down, both he and Clint vanished. Then another recording showed Steve and Natasha entering the lab. Inspecting the machine, they too disappeared after it booted up a second time.

"Crap! I knew that thing was trouble the day Tony brought it home." Pepper cursed.

"If they were hit by that beam and became miniature…" Bruce started to say but Pepper cut him off.

"Quick, to the lab!" she said as she pushed Bruce out the door.

The two ran into the lab and frantically started to search every nook and cranny of the confined space.

"Any luck?" Bruce asked her.

"None." Pepper replied. She began to think. Where could have the now shrunken Avengers have gone?

"I think I know what might have happened." Bruce said with a guilty look on his face. "I had just come back into the lab after I made lunch and I saw what I thought where pests…"

Pepper's head snapped directly toward Bruce, her eyes sharp with anger. "You didn't."

"I might have taken them out with the trash." He said quietly in an uneasy voice. Bruce was prepared to feel the full wrath of Tony's girlfriend. But instead of yelling at him, Pepper let out a stifled grunt and jerked Bruce's arm. She dragged the scientist out of the lab and toward the garbage chute.

"Just be lucky it wasn't garbage day." Pepper told him curtly as they came to the chute.

Bruce found the garbage bag from earlier and quickly ripped it open. He dug through the mess but found no one inside. He was about to curse his bad luck when he noticed a tiny slit in the side of the bag.

"Pepper, they managed to cut themselves out of the bag." Bruce said showing her the slit.

"Do you think they could be down here?"

"Not sure. We'll look around." But their search turned up empty handed.

"Damnit." Bruce muttered. He removed his glasses and rubbed his brow in frustration.

"OK, let's think. How long ago did you take out the trash?" Pepper said.

"Right before you showed up."

"That's it! Tony and the rest of the team must have climbed into my shopping bag while I was searching for my ID card!" Pepper said in excitement. "They must still be in the bag upstairs!"

"Let's go." Bruce stated.


	3. Chapter 3

Back upstairs, the four small heroes had made it safely on top of the couch. Gazing out from their new viewpoint, the group wondered when Pepper and Bruce where coming back.

"The sooner we get back to our normal sizes, the better!" Clint said as he surveyed the scene.

"For once, I agree." Tony was still mad at Clint for tossing the football into the machine, but with Pepper here now, she would aid Bruce in finding them a lot quicker.

Steve was nervous about being up so high. The width of the back panel of the couch didn't provide a sturdy strip for one to stand. It was like being on a tightrope; you had to balance your body just right in order not to become too wobbly. Natasha noticed the troubled look on Steve's face as he was struggling to keep his stance. She grabbed his hand and helped him regain his posture. Steve gave the Russian a smile of gratitude for her help. Natasha smiled back as the two continued to hold hands.

Clint noticed the two and couldn't help not poking fun at his team mates. "So are you two lovebirds gonna make out or what?" he commented.

Natasha gave the archer an icy glare. Clint just smirked; he knew that Natasha had a crush on Steve and would often annoy her with his knowledge of her feelings toward him whenever the opportunity arose.

"Hey! I see Bruce and Pepper!" Tony told his team mates. He then began to wave his arms wildly, hoping to attract their now colossal friends. Due to his excitement, Tony lost his balance and fell off the top of the couch. He landed on the cushion with a thud.

"Tony!" the other three called out.

"I'm OK. Pull me up!"

Steve yanked out the fishhook and was about to toss Tony the fish line end when he too fell onto the cushion below. Steve had let go of the hook and it sank in between the cushions. "Crap. Tony, help me find it."

But it was no use; the fishhook was far down too deep for either man to grab it.

"We lost the hook!" shouted Tony to Clint and Natasha.

"What do we do now?"

"This." Natasha said as she grabbed Clint's wrist. She jumped with him in tow and they landed next to Steve and Tony. "We stay put. Since Pepper and Bruce just entered the room, they'll be sure to look around and find us on the couch."

As Bruce and Pepper entered the room, they immediately noticed the fallen shopping bag. Quickly examining it, they noticed that the pack of fishing hook was opened and that some of the fishing line had been used. Looking at it with curiosity, the two wondered where their tiny companions had gone.

"The couch!" both Bruce and Pepper concluded.

They rushed over to the piece of furniture, excited to have finally found their missing friends. But when they looked at the couch, the four where nowhere to be found. It turned out that Pepper had knocked over a side pillow in her excitement, which forced the group to dodge out of the way of the falling object…and off of the couch! Now on the floor, the mini Avengers quickly scrambled out harm's way of being crushed by a colossal scientist and CEO. The heroes took shelter underneath the couch and watched as Bruce and Pepper grow disappointed over their failed find.

"I'd thought for sure we'd find them." Pepper said to Bruce.

"We'll find them, don't worry. Let's go try the kitchen."

As the two left the living room, the group appeared out in the open once more.

"It's going to be nothing more than a game of Cat and Mouse." Remarked Steve as he watched Bruce and Pepper enter the kitchen.

"Anyone have any ideas?" Tony asked his fellow team members. For a few minutes, no one said a word. Each of them where trying to come up with a possible solution to their query.

"I got it!" Clint proclaimed. "Tony, remember those portable speakers you got for your IPod? What if we were able to use them and blast that music player loud enough for Bruce and Pepper to hear?"

"It could work…my bags are still by the door and I know I packed it on top." Tony mused.

"Now that we are all the size of ants, it's going to be a challenge getting to the exit in one piece." Steve was judging the distance from the living room to the exit. They were going to have to cross not only the living and dining room, but make their way down the hall, past the kitchen and toward their goal of Tony's luggage.

"It's gonna feel like walking a million miles at this height." Clint said when he noticed Steve's focused look.

"Well, we better get going." Natasha said. "We won't be making any progress just by standing here." She did have a point. The group then began the trek to the exit.

After searching the kitchen, the training room and all the bedrooms, Bruce and Pepper where stumped. With no other options that lay before them, the two needed to take a break. Sitting at the kitchen island, they were silent over coffee Pepper had prepared, contemplating over what had transpired.

"What are we going to do?" Pepper asked Bruce after mulling over her coffee.

"I don't know. I mean, what can we do?"

"Too bad JARVIS can't pick up feeds on them or whatever that A.I. program does."

"Since they were shrunk down the height of a few inches, their bio feeds are too weak for JARVIS to track. Also, their voices are too high for him to read as well." Bruce explained. "And forget using a cellphone or even a communicator to get in contact with us. That shrink ray's electrical output would have rendered both of those items useless."

"I really don't want SHIELD involved either. They would shut down the tower in a heartbeat!"

Bruce agreed with Pepper. The agency already disliked Tony for taking the shrink ray for his own personal hobby project and if they found out that the billionaire had a mishap with it...agents from SHIELD would be here in ten seconds flat and confiscate the shrink ray before Bruce would even have a chance to reverse the damage on his team!

"Well, we do know that they are in the tower's living quarters, so they couldn't have gone far. We just need watch where we step, that's all."

"Bruce, what about the shrink ray?" Pepper was curious about how the scientist was going to handle the machine.

"The shrink ray went into standby mode after it was fired twice. Despite a football was thrown at it, it's surprisingly resilient. I put in the auto shut down code when I first heard about what happened to Tony and the gang. But once I override the shutdown, it's going to take a few hours for the ray to be at full power. I'm going to leave it as is until we find everyone. Once we have them in safety, I'll boot the ray back up."

"Good call. We don't need any more accidents." Pepper said. She sighed and took a sip of her coffee. "I just hope Tony's OK."

"Pepper, he's fine. Clint, Natasha and Steve are with him. Plus, look on the bright side: they are the most resourceful people I know. We've been in tougher situations than this as a team and we've come out of them just fine."

The confidence in Bruce's voice about his team mates eased Pepper's worries. "You're right, Bruce. We just have to have faith that they'll be fine."

* * *

"Goddamn, it's like _Lord of the Rings_ all over again!" Tony wailed. "All we're doing is walking!"

"You got a better plan?" Natasha snapped. She was getting tired of hearing Tony whine about how long it was going to take them to reach the exit. From what Steve had guessed, it was going to take the group at least a few hours to reach their goal. The four heroes had been crossing the living room and had now just entered the dining room.

"Tony, can you just be quiet for a few minutes?" Even Clint was getting annoyed, despite he and Tony where the practical jokesters of the team.

"You're right, Clint…sorry." He apologized. "I must admit, our new height has some advantages. We can now finally see what Hank Pym is always raving about, minus the mental breakdown and all."

"I see." Steve did realize on how being so small could help in infiltrating the enemy camp.

"Regardless of what Hank thinks about having the ability to become so small, I still must disagree." Natasha said. "I don't really like how now that the everyday mundane is now so large it could possible kill us."

As the team continued to cross the dining room, they gazed up and saw just how everything was now massive and looming. Even just by knocking over a once small object like a fork by mistake would pose a threat of injury to the diminutive group. A glint of something shiny had caught Natasha's eye and she went over to investigate it. Picking it up, the Russian had found a sewing pin. She held it up to her team mates.

"This should come in handy." She said and carried it like a sword.

"Since when do any of us sew?" Steve asked. Clint sheepishly raised his hand.

"It helps keep my fingers flexible. Plus you never know when you've got to repair your suit out in the battle field."

"Remind me to call on you whenever I need my underwear stitched up." Tony said to the archer. "Just make sure they are washed before I have to touch your laundry, Stark." Clint countered.

After exchanging a few more quips, the group was silent once more as they continued on their path. Suddenly, the ground started to shake and Pepper entered the room. She had a bucket filled with water and a rag in her hand.

"I swear I'm dating Pig-Pen." She said as she walked past them. She placed the bucket on the table and started to clean the dining room.

Natasha had a gleam in her eye as she looked down at the sewing pin now turned weapon.

"Guys, I've got an idea." She said and proceeded toward Pepper.

With her leg now as tall as a redwood tree, Natasha saw that Pepper's pant leg was exposing her bare ankle. Tony knew what the spy's plan entailed and rushed over to her, hoping to remove the sewing pin out of her hand.

"Oh no, you don't!" he said, but Natasha dodged his reach.

"Tony, relax! Pepper's only going to feel a tiny prick, not a stab. It'll be like getting a spider bite."

"I find that to be ironic, you know."

Natasha just rolled her eyes over Tony's remark. She continued toward Pepper's leg. With much gusto, she jammed the pin deep into the woman's flesh.

"Ouch!" yelped Pepper. She jerked her leg slightly enough to hit the table and cause the bucket to fall over and spill its hot, soapy water all over. "Shit!" Pepper cussed and rushed to go quickly grab a towel to mop up the mess.

Steve, Clint, Natasha and Tony saw that a huge wall of water was coming toward them. With a mighty crash from the wave, the minuscule Avengers where now soaked to the bone and being pushed toward the other side of the dining room. As the water engulfed over their bodies, Steve quickly grabbed Natasha's arm to prevent her from being drifted away from the group. But the force of the water was too strong and Natasha was dragged away from Steve. When the water receded, the men coughed and sputtered the water out of their lungs.

"Holy hell was that water hot!" Clint said as he coughed and shook from the aftermath of the force from the monstrous wave.

"I think I can taste the Spic and Span Pepper was using to clean with. Yuck!" Tony spat.

"Gross." Steve said as the artificial fresh scent entered his nose. "Guys, where's Natasha?!"

The three men quickly looked around but didn't see her next to them. The wave had separated the group and Steve frantically scanned the area one more time. To his relief, he spotted a figure a few feet away from him and his team mates.

"Natasha!" the men cried out. They rushed over to her. Turning her over, Natasha wasn't breathing. Thinking fast, Steve began to perform CPR. Tony and Clint watched with anxious glances, hoping Natasha would come around. After a few rounds, Natasha coughed and spit up some of the water she had accidently swallowed. Steve turned her on her side as the spy continued to cough and spit out water. She took some deep breathes and slowly sat up, looking at her now relieved friends.

"Nat! Thank god you're all right!" Clint happily exclaimed.

"Guess…that plan…didn't…work out…too well." Natasha slowly spoke, still regulating her breathing.

"It doesn't matter. We thought you were a goner." Tony said as she helped her up.

Natasha was still a little wobbly, but otherwise fine. She rung out the excess water from her hair as Steve placed a hand on her shoulder for comfort.

"Glad to see you are well." He told her, to which she smiled back at him.

"Now that we smell like freshly washed carpet, let's see if we can find something to dry ourselves off." Tony said as he and Clint when ahead to scout out for some type of towel.

Steve was still helping Natasha get her bearings together. "You OK?"

"Yeah." She said and coughed once more. "I'll be fine."

"Good. I was afraid I might have lost you."

"Steve…thanks for saving me." Natasha said as she accepted his arm over her shoulder as a means of support; she was still uneasy to walk on her own.

Steve reddened slightly as he held the Russian. He had a crush on her for quite some time. As the two caught up with Clint and Tony, the men had found a napkin and tore it into strips. After the group dried themselves off the best they could, the heroes continued crossing the dining room as the giant Pepper failed to notice them while she was cleaning up her mess.


	4. Chapter 4

It had been awhile since his team mates where shrunk and Bruce was going over Tony's previous lab reports about the machine. He and Pepper decided to pursue other activities to take their minds off of the search for their missing friends.

"It'll do us no good in our current mind frame. We might do something we'll regret." Bruce told Pepper

"Like you said, Tony and the rest of the team have been in much worse situations and have come out fine. I'm going to do some light cleaning, but if I find them, I'll bring them back to lab." She said.

"Sounds like a plan. I'll be going over Tony's notes and see if I can find anything about reversing the process. Oh, and Pepper—"

"No vacuuming. Got it Bruce." Pepper said with a smile. "You have nothing to worry about. Don't stress yourself out going over those notes." She then took her leave.

Bruce can see why Tony was head over heels with Pepper. She had an air about her that could make even the over neurotic scientist feel at ease and grounded. Bruce skimmed through the notes and sighed. It was going to be hard reading Tony's transcripts; his penmanship was chicken scratch.

"He really needs to start typing them up." He said and began the task at hand.

* * *

It was late in the afternoon and they were now near the entrance to the kitchen. A growl from Clint's stomach was loud enough for the whole group to hear.

"Sorry." He chuckled in embarrassment. "I'd give anything for a cheeseburger right now."

"Yeah, me too. It's been hours since I had breakfast." Steve said. Even Natasha and Tony (including their stomachs) agreed. The four tiny heroes eyed the kitchen counter with hungry eyes.

"I'd even eat some of Thor's Pop-Tarts if I could get my hands on them." Tony longingly said.

"I'll never understand his fascination with those things." Natasha commented. "Never did like them myself."

"Please, no more talk of food! You'll only make it worse." Clint complained.

Tony saw that Pepper's strap for her purse was draped over the chair near the breakfast bar that lead to the counter. "Look! I bet we could use Pepper's bag to climb up and get us some food."

"It's worth a shot." Steve said and led the team to the chair.

Tugging on the strap, Steve saw it was sturdy enough to climb upon. He volunteered to go first. Using the strap as a rope, Steve climbed atop of the bag, then jumping onto the seat. Despite the breakfast bar was high up, he saw that tucked in the corner of the dividing wall was the case of beer Clint had bought.

"Clint, bless you and your desire to be in a drunken haze!" Steve called out to the archer. "That case you purchased will act like a stepping ladder for us to get onto the counter."

"See, I told you it was smart of me to buy that much beer." Clint nudged Natasha.

"I must give you credit where credit is due…I guess." She said nonchalantly.

"To alcohol: the cause and solution to all of our problems!" Tony cheered as he scurried up to where Steve was.

Natasha and Clint followed suit and soon the heroes where on the breakfast bar. Scanning the surface, they soon discovered that there was a box of doughnuts near the toaster oven. Bruce had bought a dozen or so of the bakery treats the other day and there was still a few of them left over.

"Doughnuts!" the foursome exclaimed as they rushed over to the box in excitement. Throwing open the box, they gazed at the now larger than life pastries.

"Tony…pinch me, I must be dreaming." Said Clint in a dreamy voice. His eyes where wide with hunger and mouth salivating over the doughnuts. The billionaire promptly did so.

"Hey! I didn't mean it literally!"

Tony laughed. "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's dig in!"

As Clint and Tony pretty much ate like starving animals, Natasha quietly munched on a plain cake doughnut. Steve knew that the spy didn't really care for sweets. Picking apart a jelly doughnut that was cut in half, Steve offered Natasha a morsel of his food. She gladly accepted and used part of the jelly from Steve's doughnut to top hers.

"It's like eating toast with jam on it." Natasha said to Steve as she ate her food.

He tried some of Natasha's doughnut and agreed. "I'm glad Bruce didn't throw these out, this is exactly what we needed to curb our hunger."

"Speaking of appetites, it seems Clint and Tony are in a food coma right now." She said and pointed to her fellow partners.

Steve saw the two men with satisfied grins on their faces and crumbs of doughnut, powdered sugar and sprinkles all over their clothes and bodies.

"That…was totally worth it." Tony said as he rubbed his now full stomach. "I'm not even mad at you any more, buddy."

"Good. I'm so full right now; I don't even care." Clint replied and suppressed a belch.

Natasha shook her head in disappointment. Ripping off a part of a paper towel from the roll located near them, she marched over to Tony and Clint and proceeded to wipe off the mess on them.

"Whoa, what gives?!"

"Nat, what the-?!"

"The two of you look like a couple of messy, sticky preschoolers." Natasha grumbled as she continued to clean up the men. Steve couldn't help but laugh at the sight he was seeing.

When Natasha finished cleaning up Tony and Clint, the tiny Avengers carefully made their way back down to the floor.

"You didn't need to act all Mother Hen on us." Tony told Natasha as he was the last to climb down. "That's usually Steve's job."

Steve gave Tony an annoyed glare. "Here's right Steve. You would have done the same thing." Natasha pointed out.

The solider then became embarrassed from the awkward truth the spy pointed out. Natasha saw the look on his face and apologized. "I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable. I just wanted to show how much you care about the well-being of others." Steve was grateful that Natasha saw just how unselfish he was.

"Aw, it looks like Cap's gettin' coddled by his crush." Tony jested. This only made Steve turn a deeper shade of red.

"Uh, let's get going guys! Daylight's burning fast and I would like to reach the exit before it gets dark." Steve said in a shaky voice and trotted ahead.

Natasha gave a similar disenchanted look to Tony and then followed Steve. Clint looked at Tony with a puzzling expression on his face.

"Hey, it's pretty obvious Cap's head over heels for Red."

"I know, and so is Nat. Why do you think I teased her awhile back when we were on the couch?"

"Huh. Never would have figured, given how Natasha's, you know…secretive and all."

Tony and Clint watched Steve and Natasha walk next to one another in a more relaxed stance, with the Russian placing a hand on Steve's back as a show of support. The two men shrugged and quickly caught up with their team mates.

* * *

It was very late in the evening when Bruce and Pepper entered the kitchen. Their last search for the missing Avengers did turn up some clues. Pepper found a ripped up napkin close to where she had spilled the bucket of soapy water while cleaning, as well as a sewing pin. And now the two had discovered the box of doughnuts on the counter had been opened and eaten, along with some scraps of paper towel.

"Always one step behind them." Pepper said as she tossed a frozen pizza into the pre-heated oven. She did checked to make sure that the miniature heroes where not inside before switching the oven on. "Bruce, how's your research going?"

"Good, despite your boyfriend's illegible lettering." He said as he pulled out some plates from the cabinet. Pepper chuckled at the scientist's comment.

"He did always have terrible writing. Still, is there a way to reverse that shrink ray?"

"Thankfully, yes. I'm not as adapt as Tony when it comes to anything mechanical, but the adjustments to reverse the shrink ray are simple enough for me to do."

Pepper sighed in relief. She and Bruce sat at the table while their pizza cooked. When the timer went off and the pizza was cool enough to eat, the two enjoyed their meal. While she ate her food, Pepper looked at the wall clock.

"Bruce…should we call it a day?"

"Huh?" he said and also looked at the time. "Might as well. I don't know about you, but I'm starting to fade."

"Same here. I'll sleep in Tony's room and will do one last search before I call it a night."

Bruce nodded as he picked up his plate and put it in the sink. "I just need to finish up in the lab and I'll turn in as well." He told Pepper, but she stopped him before he could leave.

"Bruce…thank you."

"Thank you? For what?"

"For keeping me level in all this." Pepper told the scientist. "I'm still worried about Tony, but with your positive outlook on the whole situation, it's just what I needed."

"Pepper, I'm worried just as much as you are about not only Tony, but for the rest of my team mates as well. If Tony has taught me anything about being on a team is that you always have to confidence, regardless of the outcome."

The two exchanged comforting smiles and went about their way.


	5. Chapter 5

DISCLAIMER: I do not own the rights to the song "Hooked on a Feeling"

AUTHOR'S NOTE: It should come to no surprise that after seeing the trailer for the upcoming movie _Guardians of the Galaxy_ I just had to include the Blue Swede cover of the song used in it as the music Tony chooses (can only imagine the banter between Tony and Peter would be hilarious!).

* * *

A big yawn from nearly everyone signaled it was time to call it a day. The four small statured heroes where exhausted from their day of trekking the entire living quarters at only being just a few inches tall. Despite they were disheveled and tired; the group arrived at the exit. With renewed vigor, they managed to climb up onto Tony's duffel bag and open it. Just as Tony said the IPod and the portable speakers where on top and within easy reach.

"I think we should wait until the morning to put our plan into action." Steve told his friends. "I think it goes saying that we're all pretty beat."

"Couldn't agree with yea more, Cap." Tony said and yawned once more.

Clint flopped on the pile of neatly folded clothes inside the duffel bag and sighed. "It may not be camping under the stars, but it sure beats sleeping on the cold floor. At least your clothes are clean, Tony."

"Just be happy we're not using my underwear as pillow and blankets, Clint." Tony said as he began to make a makeshift blanket and pillow out of the clothing.

Clint and the rest of the team followed. Once everyone was comfortable, they settled in for the night. But Steve decided to stay up a little bit longer.

"If Pepper or Bruce comes this way before they go to bed, they'll be sure to see the bag open with us inside. If that does happen, I'll be sure to wake the rest of you." Steve told Natasha when she asked him his reasoning.

"OK…just don't stay up too late. You need to get some sleep yourself." She said. "Well, good night Steve."

"Good night, Natasha." He replied.

She gave him a soft smile, to which Steve smiled back nervously (Natasha was cute when she had a school girl look on her face). Due to this, he became clumsy and nearly tripped as Steve was walking to his post. Tony and Clint snickered at how Steve had reacted to Natasha's sweet gesture.

"Good night, Natasha." The two of them said in a mocking tone and giggled once more. Steve didn't bother to come up with a rebuttal; he knew that would only rile up Tony and Clint.

Much later in the night, when everyone was fast asleep, Natasha awoke to hear Tony and Clint snoring near her. She looked in front of her and noticed that Steve hadn't gone to bed yet. Quietly leaving her spot, Natasha carefully navigated herself to where Steve was sitting.

"Hey you." She said and Steve acknowledged her. "I'm surprised to find you still up. You really need to come to bed."

"I will, I will…" Steve didn't want to sound ungrateful over Natasha's concern for him, but he just wasn't sleepy.

"I'll stay up with you for a bit. Hearing the Goofy Gophers snore awoke me and I'm not going back to sleep anytime soon."

Steve chuckled at Natasha's comparison of Tony and Clint to the famed Looney Tunes characters; although the gophers had better manners than his team mates did (most of the time). "Thanks, I could use the company." The two sat quietly next to each other, staring ahead at the hallway that was now a vast, long valley that seemed to go on for miles.

"I guess this wasn't how you wanted to spend your time off, huh?" Steve finally said to break the silence between him and Natasha.

"For the most part, yes. I wasn't expecting to be shrunk to the size of a toy. But I think I'm making the best out of a bad situation."

Steve looked at the Russian with an inquiring look. "What do you mean?"

"Uh…" Natasha was hesitant to answer. "You go first. How are you handling all that has happened?"

Steve thought about it for a bit. "It's like being on that camping trip I was supposed to be on, while the rest of our 'adventure' was like being out in the battlefield."

Natasha nodded in agreement. "Now that you mention it, this is a lot like camping. Except we don't have any stars, unless you count the dimly-lit glow of the skyline through the windows and the safety light in the hallway."

Steve did see the similarity Natasha had made. "Now your turn. How are you turning this all around, Natasha?"

"Steve…I'm glad that the actual camping trip didn't go through. I'm happy that I'm spending my time off with you…I enjoy it whenever we spend time together." She said and placed her hand on his.

Steve looked at the spy, who had warm radiance on her face. "Really?" he was surprised her reveal.

"Yes. Steve, the other times we've spent together…I've gotten to know the real Steve Rodgers, not just the one who puts on the suit and becomes Captain America."

"Natasha…I feel the same way about you too. In the time we've grown close, I've gotten to see the true Natasha, the one who isn't as cold or unfeeling as she pretends to be. I'm glad that trip got cancelled too. I was disappointed that you were not coming along, but now I got my wish and I'm here with you."

Steve and Natasha stared at one another for a moment. They leaned forward and shared a kiss. After they parted lips, the two chuckled like two high school sweethearts falling in love for the first time.

"That was—"Steve had started to say but Natasha finished his sentence. "Nice."

"Yeah…it sure was." He said and grasped Natasha's hand into his. She squeezed his hand in a loving manner. Still holding hands, they got up and retired for the night, now finding the ability to sleep come a lot easier for the both of them.

It was the next morning when Clint woke. He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and saw Steve and Natasha slumbering next to each other. Steve had his arms over the Russian in a tender embrace.

"Tony, wake up!" Clint hissed quietly. Tony awoke and looked at his friend with a sleepy expression. The archer pointed to their still sleeping team mates.

"You own me five bucks." Clint told Tony, who only grumbled in response.

"I'm going back to sleep. You should too."

"But I—"

"Back to sleep. Now." Tony repeated and rolled back over to sleep. Clint finally caught on why: if either Steve or Natasha caught wind of their friends seeing proof that they finally admitted their feelings to one another…it wasn't going to be pretty. Clint huffed and returned to sleep as well.

An hour or so later, Steve awoke. He looked down at the snoozing Russian curled up next to him. Natasha was beautiful even when asleep, regardless of her messy hair and clothes. She stirred then awoke herself. Natasha saw that Steve was awake and smiled slightly.

"Good morning." She spoke softly.

"Morning. Did you sleep OK?" He asked her. Natasha nodded "yes" and sat up and stretched.

"Better go wake up the cavalry." Steve joked as he stood up and stretched his arms as well. He went over to Tony and Clint and nudged them. "Guys, get up." Steve told the sleepy men.

After a few tries and "five more minutes" from the both of them, Tony and Clint finally rose. When the group was more awake, the heroes set their plan into motion. They managed to plug the speakers into the headphone jack of the IPod and Tony then clicked the music player on. After adjusting the volume on it, he then began to go through the songs on the device. When Tony finally found the perfect song, he was grinning like a madman in sheer delight.

"Pete, I must thank you the next time we get together." Tony said and brought up the song. Before he pushed the play symbol on the screen, Tony warned everyone to cover their ears. "It's gonna be like putting the speakers up to eleven." He said and hit "play".

_Ooga Chaka! Ooga Ooga!_

_Ooga Chaka! Ooga Ooga!_

_Ooga Chaka! Ooga Ooga!_

"Great! Not this song again!" Natasha shouted to Steve when the song began to blare out of the speakers.

The song that Tony picked was one that he chose from Peter Quill (aka Star-Lord)'s playlist. When Tony had temporarily joined the Guardians of the Galaxy, he and Peter had struck up a friendship. Since returning to Earth, Tony had still kept in contact with him and the billionaire had this song on an endless repeat for a while (especially when he and Clint would be drinking). Needless to say, Natasha had grown to despise the song.

Steve thought it was a rather cheesy song, but he did get a good chuckle out of seeing Tony, Clint and on occasion Thor chanting the chorus while fist pumping along to it. In fact, Tony and Clint where enjoying the song now as it continued to blast on the maximum volume setting of the device.

"Let's just hope Bruce and Pepper hear it and come find us! I don't want to become deaf before I return to my original height!" Steve yelled back at Natasha.

Pepper awoke to the smell of someone cooking in the kitchen. She went into the room where the scent was coming from and saw Bruce fixing eggs and fried ham steaks.

"Morning Pepper!" he cheerfully greeted her. "I made coffee, so feel free to have a cup while I finish cooking up breakfast."

"Thanks Bruce." She said and prepared her cup. Bruce had made up her plate and just as the two were about to eat, a song caught their attention.

"Pepper, you hear that?"

"I do." She then hushed Bruce. They listened, trying to figure out what it was.

Pepper motioned Bruce to follow her, which he did. As they investigated the source of the song, the music grew louder and louder as the two heading toward the door that lead out of the living space.

"Who would be playing Blue Swede at this hour?" Bruce said, but realized he answered his own question.

He darted past Pepper and found that Tony's duffel bag had been opened. The IPod the man had was on as the song continued to play through the portable speakers. The scientist looked down and saw his miniature team mates huddled around the music player, hands over their ears to block out the sound.

"Tony, you sly old dog you!" Bruce grinned and turned to Pepper. "They're fine! I found them in Tony's bag!"

"No way!" Pepper bounded to the bag and saw the tiny heroes. She had the same big grin as Bruce on her face as she happily hugged him.

Bruce then shut off the IPod and lowered his voice when he spoke to the mini Avengers; Bruce knew that his normal speaking voice would be too loud.

"Are you guys OK?"

Tony gave Bruce thumbs up. "Great! I'm going to get the shrink ray ready. Pepper will make sure you all are taken care of."

Bruce then hurried to the lab and began prepping the machine. Meanwhile, Pepper had carried the tiny foursome back to the kitchen and set them on the table. "Here, you must be famished." She told the group and offered her breakfast plate for them to eat off of. As the heroes ate, Pepper saw Bruce return once more to the kitchen.

"The shrink ray should be ready to use in one hour." He sighed in relief. "And when this is all over, please let Tony know to get rid of that machine, ASAP."

"You don't have to tell me twice." Pepper said, whole heartedly agreeing with the scientist.


	6. Chapter 6

Within the window he predicted, the shrink ray was fully booted and ready to go. Before he could use it on his team mates, Bruce tested the ray on an empty crate. He was able to shrink it down without any problem. He then entered the configures to reverse the process based on Tony's notes and fired the machine once more. It took a couple of seconds for the crate to return to its original size, but the results were better than Bruce had expected.

"I think we can try it on the group." Bruce said with confidence to Pepper.

She had brought the mini heroes into the lab and had placed them on the table near the shrink ray. Pepper cupped her hands to them and all four sat in her palms. Carefully carrying them, Pepper placed her hands on the floor and the group exited them. She then motioned to them to stand close together; as Bruce wanted to make sure the beam from the machine would hit them all. Complying, the tiny Avengers looked up at the shrink ray with nervous faces. Bruce and Pepper also had the same expression on their faces too.

"I hope this works." She said to Bruce.

"Me too." He agreed and hit the button.

A beam fired from the shrink ray and hit the four tiny figures on the ground. At first, it seemed nothing had happened. But then the group reappeared, back to their normal size again.

"Tony!" Pepper cried in joy and proceeded to hug him.

"Whoa now!" Tony told his girlfriend, startled by Pepper's sudden emotional outburst. As she hugged him tighter, Tony did appreciate her affection towards him and gladly returned her loving gesture.

"Welcome back." Bruce told Clint as he patted the archer's back.

"Thanks Bruce. Let me tell ya, what happened to us in over the last day or so makes that camping trip pale in comparison!"

Bruce had to laugh. "That's one way to take a bad situation and make it better."

Steve and Natasha looked at one another. Before being hit by the beam that returned them to their normal height, Natasha had grabbed Steve's hand and gave it a light squeeze. He had returned the gesture. Now that they were back to normal, the couple still held one another's hands.

"It's good to be our original sizes once again." Natasha told Steve, who nodded in agreement.

"So…where do we go from here?" he asked, looking down at their still entwined hands.

"How about we just go with the flow and let things happen in good time?" Natasha said. She gave Steve a playful smile.

"That sounds like a plan."

A few days later, Tony showed up at SHIELD's headquarters, much to Nick Fury's surprise.

"Stark, I thought you were on vacation. Why are you here?"

"Just making a pit stop, that's all. I've come to bring back that shrink ray I swiped awhile back."

Suddenly, the machine was tossed and flung by the two men. Fury watched in horror as the expensive piece of equipment rolled around like a tossed pebble and broke into a pile of pieces. After the shrink ray came to a halt and settled in a heap of broken junk, the director of SHIELD looked up and saw that it was the Hulk who had chucked the machine. The green beast glared at both Tony and Fury.

"What the-?! Damnit Stark!"

"That thing is more trouble than it's worth." Tony said. He then turned on his heel and went on his way. "Come on, big guy. Let's go home. I'll stop on the way and get you a Big Mac." He said to the Hulk, who grinned with delight.

After the two left, Fury just shook his head at the now destroyed shrink ray. "This is the last time I let Stark get first dibs on anything worth of value."

THE END


End file.
